Big Bang and Creation of Time

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Big Bang and Creation of Time

World-renowned physicist Janna Levin explains the often-misunderstood relationship between the Big Bang and the creation of time - with the visual help of Thornberg & Forester animation studio.

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Keith Olwell, of Proton.net, and his wife Elizabeth, directed and produced this video with minimal funding and a lot of enthusiasm for presenting cool scientific ideas in a brief, clear and uniquely visual way. "We're believers in the value of a broad-based basic cognition of science," he says. "Science has many amazing stories to tell, but can be alienating because of an overwhelming amount of detail in the initial telling. We started making this Briefly video series to tell these awe-inspiring stories as their core concepts."

Today's pictures & links:

Romance in Space, Elizabeth Taylor-style

(The Tomorrow People by Judith Merrill, 1960. art by Robert Schulz. image via)

I can stare at this picture for hours (click to enlarge)... One day Hollywood will attempt to fit all this romance and adventure into a big-screen space epic. Hopefully they'll ask Zooey Deschanel to star in it.

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Atomic Lab on Sale!

Gilbert's 1949 Vintage Atomic Energy Laboratory appeared on eBay (link) for about $1,500 - an incredibly low starting price considering the lab has sold for over $5,000 in the past. Update: Auction is now ended, the winner got this Lab for around $5,000 after all. But keeping eye on such bargains is what keeps collectors excited...

Check out Vintage Robot Toys article on DRB.

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The World's Biggest Crop Circle

Jeroen Zierikzee writes to us: "This weekend, the largest crop artwork ever worldwide has been made in the Netherlands. 60 People created this in one night - for reference (on the same scale), the soccer stadium in the corner is the Feijenoord Stadium in Rotterdam (55000 seats)." Click the image to enlarge:

(images credit: Joop van Houdt)

This magnificent work was designed by Remko Delfgauw, see more images here

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Fish Inspectors in Kamchatka

"Outnumbered and underpaid, fish inspectors in surplus tanks bog down in pursuit of poachers. Researchers say illegal harvests equal or exceed the recorded catch, imperiling stocks on many rivers."

(photo by Randy Olson, National Geographic)

Don't forget to check out DRB coverage of Kamchatka in Magnificent Russian Far East article.

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Mixed fresh links for today:

"Noah" Mammoth Pyramid Designed for New Orleans - [arcology]
UK Nuclear Weapons Development - [video series]
The Interiors of Bomb Shelters - [apocalyptic]
Top Digital Artworks Compilation - [spectacular]
Some oddly named places... indeed - [and stories behind them]
Off-the-Wall Offbeat Architecture - [architecture]
Cyberpunks in 2009: "Ageing Chrome" - [cool article]
Enter the Astronaut! - [fun video]
How drugs affect driving... hilarious - [fun video, gross parts]
German Navy Boats Crashing - [wow video]

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Victoria Crater on Mars

Update your idea of jewelry...

(image by NASA, more info)

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Cool Sidecar Motorcycles from Russia

The legendary Ural motorcycles - almost unchanged since the heady days of WWII and the Cold War - have been given a modern makeover (and price tag), and are finally available for true style connoisseurs in US. Check out this page for more info.

Click to enlarge. (images credit: URAL)

The rugged and military-looking Siberian Ural motorcycle, a new model called the Ural-T, can be yours for a paltry $9,999 (look for it at some US dealers this summer).

Speaking about awesome-looking bikes, here is a modern Confederate P120 Fighter, recently unveiled at The Quail Gathering motorsport event. Art in motion! (more info)

(image credit: bikeexif)

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Charlie Chaplin in Color

(images courtesy of George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film)

Just because he's silent doesn't mean he's colorless... delight in several rare autochromes of the venerable Mr Chaplin in the period 1917-1918. Click photo 1, photo 2, photo 3, photo 4 to see more. (So, was his moustache black or merely dark brown?)

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Steampunk Elephant Mask - and More!

Tom Banwell, a leatherworker from Penn Valley, California, came up with this "Pachydermos" gas mask design. Check his store for more inspiration.

(image credit: Tom Banwell, via)

Also be sure to inhale the horror of the three-part Gas Mask series on DRB, pumped full of creepiest masks imaginable...

Speaking about new steampunk gear, here is a cool vintage-looking cellphone from J. Redmer. See more contraptions from this master here.

(image credit: Redmer)

Also, as an addition to our latest Steampunk Art article, we have to mention the work of Bethalynne Bajema - absolutely gorgeous in sepia tones... in a twisted baroque style.

(art by Bethalynne Bajema)

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Fatal Attraction

He falls in love with her, and then he kidnaps her. Julie Adams and the Gill Man - in the Creature from the Black Lagoon, 1954

(image via)

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Did You Hear of a Dutch Festival Called GOGBOT? How about ATOMPUNK?

It's a four-day festival in Enschede, Netherlands, with a focus on invention, robotics, space, time travel and the atom era - more info:

The festival has the edgy ATOMPUNK-theme (introduced by Bruce Sterling), and provides a stage for 200 artists and performances in art, media, music and technology. GOGBOT takes place September 10-13th, 2009.

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Continuing the theme of really bizarre t-shirts, this one appears to redefine the lunacy...

T-shirt (and a Map) For Back-Scratch Bliss

Ever tried to tell your friend where to scratch your back? "LEFT!", "HIGHER!", "OH, SO CLOSE!"... No more guessing! Now you can give precise co-ordinates by pointing to the exact square on a chart - so that your friend could zero in to the itchy spot with newfound confidence.

(image via)

Battleship, anyone?

Ah, but we have even weirder clothing item for you... no rational reason for its existence is provided, or indeed conceivable.